There are many words that could best accurately describe Johanna Fausto. As it is written on her blog, she likes to be known as a cultural observer, adventurous traveler, food lover, Bikram Yoga practitioner, urban dweller, wannabe singer and life embracer. But add to that list, one more thing: unofficial Queens ambassador.

Fausto, a Queens native who has bounced about the borough before settling in College Point, is on a 12-week travel series around Queens. Her aim: to explore and promote the borough.

“I’m a Queens gal through and through,” she said. “I’ve always been fond of this borough and I’m so proud of the diversity here.”

Fausto decided to recommit her blog to local travel after being encouraged by a fellow travel blogger who wanted to create a community of bloggers who would be dedicated to celebrating the joys of their hometown for 12 weeks.

Fausto updates her blog each week with her adventures. In week one, her challenge was to feature her hometown from an aerial point of view. She chose The Panorama at the Queens Museum of Art.

The second week’s challenge involved showcasing the sunrise. She chose to view it from Long Island City. To her, there’s no better way to see the sunrise in New York than being on the waterfront and seeing the buildings reflect the sun’s rays.

Standing in Gantry Plaza State Park in Long Island City before dawn, she later wrote on her blog: “I was presented with a grand surprise—the sun rose over Queens precisely between the Long Island City condo towers, and it was reflected in the Manhattan skyscrapers and the East River thereby creating the illusion of a second sunrise!”

Fausto, who works for a nonprofit organization, hopes the challenge will take her to more parts of Queens and allow her to learn new things.

She also wants to reach New Yorkers who are afraid to cross the river and travelers who are interested in having a more in-depth, off-the-beaten-path experiencing a new dimension of New York City.

“Queens is still not a place that people would think of visiting and to me that’s a shame,” she said. “My heart and soul resides in this borough; I have always promoted the delights of Queens to friends and family.”